Peripheral surgery destroys the blood-brain barrier by activating tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF α)/nuclear factor (NF)-κB, which makes peripheral macrophages migrate to the hippocampus, and then promotes the neuroinflammatory reaction of memory impairment. The activation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α 7 subtype is an endogenous inflammatory relief pathway, which can prevent TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation, macrophage migration to the hippocampus, and postoperative cognitive decline (Terrando et al., 2011). This evidence concerns the gene TNF and memory impairment.